'Come Eat With Me' by Sri Vamsi Matta
Refunction is a performance series inspired by one of the core principles of Bertolt Brecht’s theatre –
Umfunktionierung (
refunctioning), in which the composition of a new work is in the movement and tension between material, technique and function.
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In 2022, Refunction invited artists and groups to submit proposals for both physical (offline) and digital (online) performance projects. We are excited to present and support works that challenge and propose rituals, modes and mediums of performance in our present contexts.
The first project in September is
Come Eat With Me, by Refunction grantee
Sri Vamsi Matta - a performance piece that explores the relationship between caste and food while sharing a meal together.
Focusing on Dalit Cuisine, the piece begins with personal stories and oral histories around food in his household and community and is peppered with existing literature and academic writing around the multilayered, many flavoured relationships between caste and food.
The piece unpacks questions of oppression and solidarity, grief and joy, and the everyday victories of the human spirit in the face of structural injustices. The audience is invited to eat together and share their own stories around caste and food. In doing so, the form subverts an activity laden with caste hierarchies and hopes to create a space for community building.
© Arvind
Sri Vamsi Matta, or simply
Vamsi, is a Bangalore-based theatre artist who has been involved with the theatre fraternity for over a decade. Starting out as a hobby during his undergraduate years at the Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore, theatre soon became a significant occupation, and then a full-time profession. Vamsi’s practice is influenced by the Dalit identity, experience and location, which inform the questions, topics and mediums with which Vamsi engages.
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Refunction is a performance series initiated and supported by Goethe-Institut / Max Mueller Bhavan New Delhi.
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